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Summer 2008 Announcement
See the Summer 2008 page for more details.

Inaugural issue of The LLI REVIEW: The Annual Journal of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes is published

The issue is available in PDF format and online at www.osher.net. Our own Abe Arkoff (page 98) and Sam Chang (Page 129) contribute to this inaugural issue, and Donald Matsumori is one of the six cover models for the journal (photo by Michael Cheang).

OLLI Receives unsolicited Second $1 Million Endowment

Nearly a year after receiving its first $1 million endowment from the Bernard Osher Foundation of San Francisco, the Osher Lifelong learning Institute (OLLI) at the University of Hawaii at Manoa has received a second $1 million endowment from the Foundation. The UHM program is one of only five university-based lifelong learning programs in the U.S. to receive unsoclicited second endowments from the Osher Foundation. The endowments were awarded based on demonstrated program success, strong evidence of sustainability, and increasing local demand for services. Other second endowment recipients include California State University at Sonoma; Duke University; Kennesaw State University; and University of Dayton. "We are overjoyed to receive this generous second endowment from The Bernard Osher Foundation," said Rebecca Goodman, Director of the UHM OLLI program. "The additional support will allow us to continue expanding our course and workshop offerings to provide a richer learning experience for older persons in Honolulu."

Now in its 10th year of operation, the OLLI program at UH Manoa has more than 1,000 members and is under the sponsorship of the Colleges of Arts and Sciences. It is an educational membership program for people 50+ who want to learn for the joy of it, connect with peers, enhance health and well-being, and give back to the community. OLLI-UHM provides an array of courses, life review workshops, creative writing and poetry workshops, film series, performing arts events, museum tours, service projects, and more. It received the national MindAlert Award from the MetLife Foundation and the American Society on Aging in 2004 in the category of Innovative Older Adult Leanrning Program.

The Bernard Osher Foundation is a charitable foundation establlshed in 1977 by Bernard Osher, a businessman and community leader in San Francisco. His philanthropy has benefited a wide range of educational, cultural and other nonprofit organizations. Since 2002, the Foundation has been offering grants and endowment funding to university-based lifelong learning programs and scholarship programs for non-traditional students returning to university.

At present, the Foundation is supporting 93 university-based lifelong learning programs in 39 states and the District of Columbia. For more information about the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UH Manoa, call 956-8224 or visit www.all.hawaii.edu.

Ke Kumu 'Ike, the newsletter of the Colleges of Arts and Sciences at UH Manoa, chose the Bernard Osher Foundation Endowment Award described below as their lead story in the Spring 2006 issue. This newsletter has wide distribution among Arts and Sciences alumni.

OLLI receives $1 million endowment from the Bernard Osher Foundation (2006). Endowment gift caps three successful years
of program growth.

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences at the University of Hawaii at Manoa has received a $1 million endowment gift from The Bernard Osher Foundation of San Francisco to support and sustain educational programming for older residents of Honolulu.

The Osher Foundation's endowment award caps three consecutive $100,000 grants given to UH Manoa's OLLI since initial funding began in February 2003. To date, only nine lifelong learning programs in the OLLI network have received such an endowment. These OLLIs are located at University of California, Irvine and Riverside, University of Southern Maine, Sonoma State University, the University of Dayton, Duke University, Kennesaw State University, The University of Minnesota, and the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. Awards are based on demonstrated program success and evidence of sustainability.

"We deeply appreciate the generous financial assistance provided by The Bernard Osher Foundation and look forward to expanding our course and workshop offerings for older persons," said Rebecca Goodman, Director of OLLI at UH Manoa.

In announcing the award, Dr. Mary Bitterman, President of The Osher Foundation, called the UH Manoa OLLI an "outstanding model of lifelong learning" and said, "the Foundation congratulate the UH Manoa OLLI on its efforts to provide educational services to seasoned adults in the Honolulu community."

The award-winning OLLI program at UH Manoa now has more than 1,000 members and provides an array of courses, life review workshops, writers' and poetry groups, film series, performing arts events, museum tours, service projects and more. In 2004, the MetLife Foundation and the American Society on Aging named the UH Manoa OLLI program as the national recipient of the MindAlert Award in the category of Innovative Older Adult Learning Program.

Goodman said the program is full of inquisitive, enthusiastic people. "It's an educational membership venture for people 50+ who want to learn for the joy of it, connect with peers, enhance health and well-being, and give back to the community," she said.

The Bernard Osher Foundation is a charitable foundation established in 1977 by Bernard Osher, a businessman and community leader in San Francisco. His philanthropy has benefited a wide range of educational, cultural and other nonprofit organizations. Since 2002, the Foundation has been offering $100,000 annual grants in three-year cycles to successful lifelong learning programs across the U.S. At present, the Foundation is supporting 73 university-based lifelong learning sites in 30 states and the District of Columbia. In the years ahead, the Foundation hopes to establish 100 sites with at least one OLLI in each state. Hawaii currently has two OLLI programs located at UH Manoa and UH Hilo.

OLLI receives third $100,000 for program continuation from The Bernard Osher Foundation (2005)

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute awarded "Innovative Older Adult Learning Program" by Metlife Foundation and American Society on Aging, 2004

The Osher Lifelong learning Institute (OLLI) at UH Manoa has been selected as a recipient of the 2004 MindAlert Award in the category of Outstanding Innovative Older Adult Learning Program. The award was developed by the MetLife Foundation in collaboration with the American Society on Aging (ASA) to recognize innovations in promoting cognitive function in later life. A $1,500 cash prize for the selected program accompanies the MindAlert Award.

In their review of the OLLI-UHM program, judges cited THE ILLUMINATED LIFE workshop developed by Dr. Abe Arkoff, Professor Emeritus, UHM Psychology, for its outstanding innovation, research applications, demonstration of effectiveness, attention to diverse audiences, and potential for replication in other lifelong learning programs.

"We are delighted and proud to receive such distinguished recognition from ASA-MetLife for our lifelong learning program," said Rebecca Goodman, OLLI Director. "THE ILLUMINATED LIFE workshop is one of the central features of our program. It is a life review and enhancement program that can help individuals create more fulfilling lives of purpose, direction, and meaning."

Unlike other life review programs that concentrate on retrospective activities, THE ILLUMINATED LIFE includes a proactive component that helps older people integrate, accept, and come to terms with the past and use the past to deal with the present. To date, more than 700 people have taken the workshop. In a recent research paper on the workshop published in THE JOURNAL OF HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY, the majority of workshop participants in the study reported that the workshop acted as a catalyst for mobilizing them to consider creative, productive post-retirement roles. The workshop also successfully fostered more self-directed learning. For more information, visit THE ILLUMINATED LIFE website.

The MindAlert Award ceremony, along with workshops detailing the program, took place at the Joint Conference of the National Council on the Aging and the American Society on Aging in San Francisco, April 14-17, 2004. Two other recipients of MetLife Foundation awards included the Northwestern University's Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center in Chicago, and the Senior Peer Counseling Program of the Center for Healthy Aging in Santa Monica, California.

For more information about lifelong learning programs at UHM or THE ILLUMINATED LIFE workshop, call the OLLI office at 808 956-8224. For more information about the MetLife Foundation-ASA Award, visit the ASA website at www.asaging.org/awards.

Welcome to Krauss Hall!

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute settled into its newly renovated offices and classrooms during Fall Term 2002. We welcome everyone to visit our new space in Krauss Hall 112 and 113. It's a fitting and elegant setting for the Institute. It's on the Hawai'i Register of Historic Sites as a notable representative of Hawaiian architecture from the 1930s. The ironwork gates surrounding the courtyard pond are embellished with the letters "PRI" for the Pineapple Research Institute. The Pineapple Institute's former six acres of labs housed the research studies responsible for the domestication of pineapple for commercial production in Hawai'i. In 1969, the University received PRI as a gift and named it in honor of Professor Frederick Krauss, Director of the Agricultural Extension Service. The complex today houses many university programs. We hope that you'll join us for Fall Term and enjoy our new space.

Grants received by Osher Institute (formerly the Academy for Lifelong Learning)

$5,000 to establish the Academy for Lifelong Learning from Deans' Development Fund, Colleges of Arts and Sciences, UH Manoa (1996-1997)
$5,000 for course, brochure, and public relations materials from the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. (1997-1999)
$2,000 for public relations, course development materials from the Hung Wo and Elizabeth Lau Ching Foundation (1997)
$1,200 for course, workshop, conference materials from the State Executive Office on Aging, Hawaii (1997)
$2,500 for course development, workshop materials from the State Executive Office on Aging, Hawaii (1998)
$1,500 for course development and public relations efforts from the Marion and Allan Saunders Fund, UH Foundation (1998-99)
$100,000 for program expansion from The Bernard Osher Foundation (2003)
$1,000 for Aging and Diversity conference/film festival with the UHM School of Social Work from the John A. Hartford Foundation Geriatric Enrichment Program (2003)
$1,050 for workshop-related travel costs for presentations at the Hilo Caregivers Conference from the State Executive Office on Aging, Hawai'i (2003)
$3,000 for workshop materials and public relations materials from the Hawai'i Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism (2003)
$100,000 for program continuation from The Bernard Osher Foundation (2004)
$100,000 for program continuation from The Bernard Osher Foundation (2005)
OLLI receives $1 million endowment from the Bernard Osher Foundation (2006)
$50,000 transitional operating funds (post-endowment funds) from the Bernard Osher Foundation (2006)
OLLI receives second $1million endowment from the Bernard Osher Foundation (2006)